SAN Miguel needed an extra period to bring down a gritty Blackwater side, 110-107, and keep the solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday.
Jericho Cruz, June Mar Fajardo, and Mo Tautuaa joined hands in overtime to lead the Beermen to the hard-earned win after the Bossing came storming back from a 21-point deficit and nearly stole the win late in regulation.
The Beermen kept the top spot with an 8-1 record after winning their fifth straight game, staying on track for a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.
"Ang hirap manalo," said San Miguel coach Leo Austria after the game played before a huge crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
"Blackwater showed some character in the endgame," added the winning coach. "So I know this team will be tough to beat come the playoffs. We're lucky we're able to pull off a win in overtime."
Behind a huge 19-0 run late in the third and early in the fourth, the Beermen enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 86-65 as Paul Zamar hit a rare four-point play.
But just when everybody thought it was over, the Bossing rallied going home and even led, 95-92, before the Beermen got their act together and managed to send the game into overtime.
Regulation ended at 97-all.
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San Miguel again took the initiative in the extra period, but Blackwater just wouldn't die, cutting down a five-point deficit to 108-107 with seven seconds left.
June Mar Fajardo, who earlier missed two pressure-packed free throws late in regulation, made sure to sink two from the foul line this time to peg the final count.
Fajardo and Cruz shared scoring honor for the Beermen with 25 points each, with the six-time MVP grabbing 18 rebounds. CJ Perez added 23, while Tautuaa with 17.
The Bossing were led by Rashawn McCarthy with 22 points, but he failed to convert a three-pointer at the final buzzer that could have sent the game into double overtime.
Rey Suerte finished with 18 points, Baser Amer with 17, and JVee Casio 15 to make up for the offensive struggle of rookie Ato Ular, who was held to just eight points after averaging 17.7 points in the team's first six games.
Blackwater fell to 5-2 as the loss snapped the team's four-game winning run.
The scores:
San Miguel (110) - Cruz 25, Fajardo 25, Perez 23, Tautuaa 17, Lassiter 5, Herndon 5, Zamar 4, Enciso 2, Canete 2, Faundo 2.
Blackwater (107) - McCarthy 22, Suerte 18, Amer 17, Casio 15, Ganuelas-Rosser 11, Ular 8, Sena 8, Taha 6, Ebona 2, Melton 0, Escoto 0, Ayonayon 0, Torralba 0.
Quarterscores: 19-17; 47-44; 82-65; 97-97 (reg); 110-107.
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